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Unbeaten Huntley hands Jacobs 1st loss

Huntley held off a late charge by visiting Jacobs to win a battle of unbeaten rivals 22-19 on a Friday night better suited for cornerbacks than quarterbacks.

With winds blowing steadily at 20 mph, the Huntley secondary batted down a pass from Jacobs quarterback Chris Katrenick at its own 7-yard line at the buzzer to seal a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division homecoming victory.

Huntley (6-0, 2-0) limited Jacobs Division-I quarterback prospect Chris Katrenick to 17-of-51 passing for 176 yards and a touchdown.

"We knew (Katrenick) was a great quarterback," said Huntley defensive lineman Tyler Larson, who batted down 2 passes. "We knew we had to pressure him, make him get rid of the ball quick. We did exactly what we needed to."

Huntley quarterback Anthony Binetti didn't fare any better, but he shrugged off one of his roughest games as a starter by delivering when his team needed him most.

The senior was intercepted 4 times in the first half. His fifth interception, on a 10-yard out, was intercepted by Jacobs outside linebacker Sean Barnes and returned 60 yards for a touchdown that drew the Golden Eagles (5-1, 1-1) within 15-12 with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter.

"I saw it, I read and I took the opportunity," Sean Barnes said. "Our defense did great. Our offense? We've got some work to do."

Huntley's offense responded with a 13-play, 65-yard drive, highlighted by a 23-yard run from Binetti, who also converted a 2-yard sneak to convert a fourth down and completed a 23-yard pass to Ben Pfeifer. He capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run on a read-option play.

"You've got to have a lot of courage as a quarterback, a short memory," Binetti said.

Huntley's signal caller rushed for 41 yards on 13 carries and completed 9 of 23 attempts for 138 yards and a touchdown.

"Great quarterbacks find a way to win ballgames," Huntley coach John Hart said. "Sometimes you look for champions when they're playing their worst."

The gutty Golden Eagles answered on their next possession. On third-and 1, Mathew Barnes burst through the line for a 64-yard touchdown run that drew Jacobs within 22-19 with 3:55 left.

"I just saw a hole, and I started running and no one caught me," Mathew Barnes said. "I was pretty happy about that."

The Jacobs defense subsequently held, giving the ball back to the offense with 1:52 to play.

Katrenick threw for a pair of first downs into the wind, however, his final attempt from the Huntley 41 was broken up by Huntley senior Sean Patel to end a wild second half.

"Every play was intense," Larson said. "This was probably one of the best games I've played in. Fun, intense every play."

Huntley took the first lead of the game with 20.9 seconds left in the first half. Two plays after Binetti connected on a 22-yard pass to Alec Coss (6 rec., 106 yards), senior running back Casey Haayer bulled his way into the end zone from a yard out. Eric Mooney's conversion run gave the Red Raiders an 8-0 lead.

Haayer was Huntley's steadiest offensive performer, rushing for a career-best 149 yards in 36 attempts.

"They came out fighting and they're a hard defense to go against. They have a lot of enthusiasm," Haayer said. "I just had to take it out there and run as hard as I can."

The Golden Eagles got on the board with 42 seconds left in the first half when Katrenick spotted Nathan Meland for a 27-yard touchdown pass, though the conversion pass failed.

Huntley got the ball to open the second half and made immediate use of it, driving 71 yards in 11 plays, fueled by 7 Haayer carries for 46 yards.

Mooney capitalized, juking his way to a 15-yard touchdown run with 8:51 left in the third quarter. Jonathan Alberts' extra point kick made it 15-6.

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